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Hey ! I have two daughters who are going to Japan as part of their college major program (International Studies/Japanese) and I need advice on what kind of devices are best for travel communications (within Japan, and also with us back in the US) ?
One daughter already has an iPod Touch (4th gen.) and finds that this is easy to text with, so is this something we should all get in order to stay in touch ? Finances are low now (private college and good financial package, but still, for two students going to Japan, ouch) and our internet at home is cruddy (live in the country/ no tower/have to go into town for WiFi.)
We have also considered an iPad, one of those cool flat pcs, phones…….I have been told that phones do not necessarily work in both places, and are a nightmare with plans etc.
Just wondering what any of you thrifty members think, and what you have tried, etc. Thanks a million !!!
You very much won’t be able to rely on WiFi being available, even in hotels. You’ll need a 3G capable phone with a travel SIM (so, a phone that’s not locked to one SIM card).
Another option is to just rent a phone when you get to Japan. There’s a few places at Narita Airport, where you can get one. I can’t really speak for the other airports, but I presume they have some too.
Yeah, you really need to do some homework to determine if renting a phone is going to be beneficial for you. For me, I’ve got AT&T and as far as international data roaming plans they actually have some decent offerings, provided you are frugal with how much data you use. 120MB for $30 may not seem like much, but when you compare it to $20/MB without a roaming plan then it’s actually quite reasonable. I mostly used it for GPS / maps, web searches, a little chat, and the occasional translation and wound up only using around 100MB over the two weeks I was there. I made certain NOT to stream video / audio or upload pictures unless connected to Wi-Fi and that helped conserve data a lot.
So I compared this vs. how much I would’ve paid to rent a phone and determined that renting a phone would’ve actually cost me more. It worked out quite well, the only trick is I had to be sure to remember to turn off the roaming service after I got back so I wouldn’t get charged for additional months that I wouldn’t be able to use.
As for not having Wi-Fi in the hotels, it is true that most hotels in Japan don’t but they do have LAN ports. So with that, just bring a Wi-Fi router and connect it to the LAN port in your hotel room.
It is true that data access isn’t very convenient for foreign travelers in Japan, but don’t mind that too much. Less time playing around with iPads and other tech means more time enjoying Japan itself. ;-)
I heard about those pocket Wifi devices.
A friend of mine was using it during his travel Through Japan.
http://www.globaladvancedcomm.com/pocketwifi.html
But the price is per day and I don’t know if there is a limitation. I just know that you have to reserve one before, I tried to get one a few days before my visit in Japan started and they were out if stock…
Thanks everybody ! Great advice ! Thanks for taking the time to help ! My last overseas trip was 20 years ago, so I am WAY out of touch, electronically.
I think that renting a phone is not going to work, since both girls will be studying for an entire semester (aprox. 4 months.) The area for study, as far as we know at this point, will be Tokyo/Yokohama areas, and probably some just general traveling around stuff too. Good to know, though, because it sounds like a good idea for short term travel.
Cost is a definite concern for us, so we appreciate any advice on the best way to save $. Any other advice is greatly appreciated !
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